DESCRIPTION: The Gordon Research Conference on Phagocytes is a leading international forum for exploring the frontiers of phagocyte biology. The meeting draws together established and emerging young leaders in the field, and the format of the conference optimizes intellectual exchange. The scientific emphases of the 1995 conference consist of the following : (1) Analysis of the molecular basis of phenomena that are fundamental to inflammation and infectious disease; (2) the inter-relatedness of areas traditionally studied in isolation; (3) newly described proteins that relate transcription and signalling to function (ARF, MARCKS, STAT 91, etc.); (4) the importance of advances in technology, including mass spectroscopic and crystallographic analysis of proteins, use of gene knockouts and gene transfection; and (5) the emergence of new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of diseases involving the anti-infectious or pro-inflammatory properties of phagocytes, including antisense blocking and gene therapy. The session topics include gene regulation in phagocytes; the basis of endotoxin toxicity at the level of transcription; leukocyte transmigration across endothelia and epithelia; leukocyte adhesion to endothelium and other biologic surfaces; the dynamic role of the cytoskeleton in cell signalling and host- parasite interactions; signal transduction mechanisms that regulate adhesion, cell movement, degranulation, and activation of the respiratory burst oxidase; the basis by which pathogens invade host cells and new understanding of host antimicrobial factors; and new approaches to therapy based on knowledge of phagocyte physiology. From an organizational point of view, the following themes have been emphasized in structuring the 1995 meeting: (1) Attracting leading scientists to the meeting who have not participated before; (2) featuring a new generation of potential leaders at the junior faculty level; (3) concentrating on the best fundamental science but extending to possible clinical applications at every appropriate opportunity; and (4) highlighting women and minorities who are making important contributions by giving them speaking or session-chairing assignments. The diseases whose control depends on advances in phagocyte biology, and which will be discussed specifically in this meeting, including septic shock, adult respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction, eczema and asthma, acute and chronic inflammation including arthritis and autoimmunity, tuberculosis, candidiasis, leukemia and cancers of solid tissues, chronic granulomatous disease, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, and a newly recognized genetic abnormality of neutrophil actin function. This meeting will provide a venue for its participants to define the field's emerging themes, to recognize new technology that might be applied, to identify emerging leaders, and to establish the potential for collaboration.